Subcarburetor



Jul 25,1944. LLAA K 2,354,373

SUBCARBURETOR Filed ,Feb. :5, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3nnentorIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIu Patented July 25, 1944 SU-BCARBURETOR 7 LincolnHanks, Tacoma, Wash. Application February 3, 1943, Serial No. 474,514

12 Claim; (Cl. 123-119) This invention relates'to devices to be appliedto an internal combustion engine, and especially to means whereby thepower of theengine is increased without a corresponding increasein thegasoline fuel consumed, in other words in which the ratio between themiles driven and the gasoline consumed is increased.

,The objects of my invention are: crease the above-mentioned ratio;second, to provide means for utilizing the water vapor from the heatedradiator; third, to provide means for utilizing the heat of the exhaustgases from the engine; fourth, to provide means to bring a stream ofrectified exhaust gases into the fiow of fuel; fifth, to provide meansfor utilizingthe vapor from the fuel tank; sixth, to provide means forutilizing the vapor from the oil sump of the engine; seventh, toprovidemeans whereby the flow of these several vapors may be automaticallycontrolled by the suction of the engine; and eighth, to provide meanswhereby the control of the flow of suchvapors may also be controlledeither by a manual connection or by connection to the foot-throttlepedal. I

I attain these and other objects by the devices, mechanisms, andarrangements illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig, 1is a diagrammatical view showing. my improved subcarburetor connected tothemain carburetor and the other essential parts ofthe automobile,showing the engine and its-normal parts in brokenlines; 2 is a verticalsection of that form of my, improved vapor control valve first, toinwhich can be controlled byeither or both'the suction of the engineandmechanically; Fig. 3 is. a vertical sectiontaken on the line 3-3 in Fig.4, showing also the automatic form of my control valve; andFig. 4; is. aplan view of -my apparatus, parts being broken, away to reveal theinteriorthereof.,. p a

Similar numerals of, reference refer to. similar parts throughout theseveral views, I

As clearly seen in Fig. 1, my, improved apparatus is inserted betweenthe "normal carburetor and the engine. Under the conditions of very slowspeed and very high speed driving, my apparatus is, automatically beingadapted vto, effect its economy of action at speeds which might providedwith the usual carburetor 6 and air cleaner '1, mounted above myimproved mixing chamber 8, and with the usual heatexchange chamber91be1ow the said mixing, chamber '8, as well as the usual exhaust pipe10, fuel pump ll, fuel tank, l2, and water-cooling radiator t3 Gasolinevapor from above the level of the gasoline in the tank I! isnormallyallowed 'to escape throughthe vent which is necessary for theadmittance of air into the tank l z to take the place of the gasolinepumped therefrom by thefuel pump ll. However, as seen inthe drawings, Iincrease the amount of this'gasoline vapor by admitting this needed airthrough one" or more vent pipes H which are open to the air at theirupper. ends and which, lead into the bottom of'the tank. l2. A baffleI5, is suitably supported abovethe orifice of each vent pipe I4, in thetank [2, in order to breakup the air bubbles rising therefrom throughthe gasoline. The vapor thus formed is led awayfrom theftank [2 by meansof the, pipe l'filto one ormorejof the control Valves hereinafterdescribed.

Water vapor i'sformed above the. waterv int the cooling radiator l3andis led therefrom byjthe' pipe I! to another of the control valveshere after described. c, ,f; p f

A rectifier, represented by the box l8, is mounted on the heat exchangechamber 9fland.is;con nected to the exhaust passage therein. I 'I 'hi's'rectifier is adapted'to change the composition'o'f some of the exhaustgases to enrich them, where-, by the rectified, exhaust gasesincreasethe combustibility of the vapors with. whichjthey are m ixedinthe mixing chamber a. The rectified gases are ledfrom the rectifier Hito themixing chamber 8 by means of the pipe [9.1 Some 'of said rectifiedgases are ledthroughthe heatgxa I, change jacket of the mixingchamberfiand, are

be called normal, or cruising speeds, within a comparatively narrowrange. This range ofaction may be adjusted within certain limitsto suit"the preference of the particular automobile operator;

Referring particularly to Fig. 1 itwill be seen that the engine25,-outlined in brokenlines, is 55 fan 25 is ing 25, which is supportedon exhausted therefrom by the pipe 2 0 1 leading to the. exhaust.pipe m of the engine 5... ,Th; e;

'mainder of said rectified gases are injectedinto the streams of vaporasthey enter thernixing chamber, as hereinafter described.

Referring now, to Figs. 3 and f1,

mixing chamber structure, it will be Seenjthat the structure is securedbetween the carburetor 6 and the heat exchanger 9 by means of, bolts.

The carburetor passage through the flanges 2|, V I I 22*leads to theinner mixing chamber Z3 and;

out bythe passage 24. The chamber 'i's' pro vided with a freely rotatingfan 25,"suit'abl y mounted in the center thereof ona' ba'll bearf aspider 2 'I." The provided with a baille 2'8'which rotates with it andwhich directs the vapors from the passage 22 outward to the outerportion of the chamber 23. The fan is rotated by the flow of vapors fromthe passage 22 to the passage 24. The lower part of the wall 29 formingthe mixing chamber 23 is provided with annular flanges 30 adapted tocatch any liquid and permit it to evaporate.

The outer wall 3| of the mixing chamber structure 8 is well separatedfrom the inner wall 29 and forms the heat exchange jacket into which thepipes I9 and 20 lead, thus supplying this jacket with hot gases wherebythe chamber 23 at the upper end of its stroke. An axial passage 52 leadsthrough the piston 49 and its stem 50 to the cross-passage 5|. A controlstem 53 leads up from the upper end of the stem 5|! and passes throughthe upper part 42 and is provided with an operating lever 54 adapted toturn the stem 50 and the piston 49 on their common axis. A spring 55engages the top of the part 41 and an adjustable nut 56 on the said stem53, thereby resisting the downward motion of the piston 49 and stem 50.An adjustable screw stop 51 passes into the lower chamber 45 to limitthe downward motion of the piston 49, or it may be screwed upward toprevent any substantial movement of the hot gases therein against thewall 29 as they 1 pass around outside of the chamber 23, therebyinsuring sufiicient heat therein to vaporize any liquid drops therein.

In Fig. 3 is shown the simplest form of control valve for supplyingvapor to the mixingchamber 23. In this case the pipe 33 carries vaporfrom the gas tank, or oil sump, or the radiator, to the upper end of theupper valve chamber 34; the connection being controlled bythespring-actuated valve head 35. This valve 35"is provided with a guidestem 36, having grooves 31 extending lengthwise thereof and slidablyfitting in the lower cylindrical chamber 38. The. pipe 39 leads from theinner mixing chamber 23 to this lower chamber 38. A spring 49 is mountedbelow the valve head 35 to press it upward against its seat.

When the pressure in the chamber123 is reduced, by the suction of theengine, to a prede termined point determined by the pressure of thespring 40, the valve head 35 is moved down; ward against the action ofthe said spring, thus admitting vapor into the chamber 34. The vaporthen passes down through the grooves-31 and intothe mixing chamber .23.The lower that this pressure is brought to by theengine the morerestricted becomes the area by which thevapor may pas-s in the grooves31 of the valve stem 36, so that eventually at minimum pressure in thechamber 23 the vapor passages are entirely closed'ofi.

Referring, now, to Fig. 2, I have illustrated another form of this vaporcontrol 'valve' in which the passage for the vapor may be controlled notonly by the low pressure in. the mixing chamber 23 but also by manual'orfoot co'nf trol. In this case the pipe 33, carrying the vapor, entersthe-upper chamber 4| without restriction by any valve. The apparatuscomprises .two main bodies 42 and 43 joined together by an intermediatebody .44. The upperbody 42 forms the chamber 4|. The lower body 43 isprovided with a cylindrical chamber 45 which "is connected to the mixingchamber 23'by the pipe .39. The intermediate body 44 is provided with acylindrical axial passage 45 joining ,the two chambers 4| and 45, andthe upperend 4! of this body 44 is of less diameter than the chamber 4|into which it projects. A cross-passage 48 is made in the wall of therestricted part, extending across it and connecting the chamber 4| withthe central passage 46. I

A piston 49 is slidably fitted in the lower. chamber 45 and is providedwith an upward-extending stem 50 slidably fitted in the passage 46 andextending above the position of the cross-passage 48. Across-passage 5|is formed :in this stem 50, said passage beingadapted to registerwiththe first cross-passage 48 when the piston 49, is

the said piston along its axis. A connecting rod, or other suitablemechanism, 58 connects the lever 54 with the normal throttle pedal 59and the manual control button 60.

It is therefore apparent that the vapor, in order to pass from thechamber 4| to the chamber 45 and the pipe 39, ,must pass through thepassages 48, 5| and 52, and it is also evident that when the piston 49is sucked down, against the action of the spring 55, the opening betweenthe cross-passages 48 and 5| is reduced in area. It is also apparentthat the said area is further controlled by rotating the stem 50 bymeans of the foot pedal 59 or the manual control 69, and that thislatter control is independent of .the pressure-actuated control by thepiston 49.

To further increase the power of the combustion of these vapors, Iintroduce into the several pipes 39 some of the above-mentionedrectified gases from theheat-exchange chamber between the walls 29 and3|, by means of jet fittings 6| in the said pipes 39 (Figs. .2, 3, 4).As before stated I may take the vapors used in this apparatus eitherfromthe fuel tank I2, the oil sump of the engine 5, or the radiator I3,or from any combination thereof, depending on the circumstances thereofand the desires of the operator in the particular case.

It is, of course, understood that many changes may be made inthe'details of my invention as above described without departing fromthe spirit of my invention as outlined in the appended claims.

Having therefore described myinvention, what I claim and desire tosecure by'Letters Patent is:

1. In an internal combustion engine having a carburetor, the combinationof a subcarburetor interposed-between the carburetor and the engine andcontaining a mixing'chamber; a freely rotating fan mounted 'in themixing chamber and athwart the stream of vapor passing from Qecarburetor to the engine, and turned thereby; a supplemental vaporsupply pipe leading into said mixing chamber; and a spring-resistedautomatic valve in said supply pipe and operated by the difference ofpressure between the mixing chamber and the atmosphere, whereby saidpipe is closed at an extreme difference ofpressure and opened only atpredetermined differences of pressure 2. The combination of claim 1,wherein the mixing chamber is heated by the engine.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the mixing chamber is providedwith means adapted to catch and retain liquid fuel; and wherein saidmixing chamber is heated by the exhaust gases from the engine toevaporate said liquid fuel therein. 1

4.. In an internal combustion engine having a carburetor, thecombination of a subcarburetor interposed-between the carburetor andtheengine and containing a mixing chamber; a freelyrotate ing fan mountedin the mixing chamber and athwart the stream of vapor passing from thecarburetor to the engine, and turned thereby; a baflle mounted centrallyabove said fan' and adapted to deflect the stream of vapor to the outerpart of the mixing chamber; a supplemental vapor supply pipe leadinginto the stream of vapor in the mixing chamber; and a spring-resistedautomatic valve in said supply pipe and operated by the difierence ofpressure between the mixing chamber and the atmosphere, whereby saidpipe carburetor from which fuel vapor is sucked by p the engine; thecombination of a mixing chamber interposed between the carburetor andthe engine; a supplemental vapor supply pipe leading into said mixing.chamber; a spring-resisted auto matic valve in said supply pipe andoperated by the difierence of pressure between the mixing chamber andthe atmosphere; and mechanically operated means-adapted to control theflow of vapor through said automatic Valve.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said mechanically operated meanscomprises means for altering the relation between said automatic valveand the vapor passage. v

7. The combination of claim 5, wherein said mechanically operated meanscomprises means for altering the relation between said automatic valveand the vapor passage by rotating the automatic valve therein.

8. The combination of claim 5, wherein the force of the spring appliedto said automatic valve may be adjusted.

9. In an internal combustion engine havin a carburetor a water-coolingradiator and a fuel tank with liquid fuel therein; the combination of asubcarburetor interposed between the carburetor and the engine, andcontaining a mixing chamber through which the fuel vapor passes from thecarburetor; separate vapor supply pipes leading to the mixing chamberrespectively from the upper parts of the radiator and the fuel tank; andseparate valve means in said vapor supply pipes and each adapted tocontrol the flow of vapor in each such vapor supply pipe.

10. In an internal combustion engine having a carburetor, aWater-cooling radiator, and an oil' sump in the engine; the combinationof a subcarburetor interposed between the carburetor and the engine andcontaining a mixing chamber through which the fuel vapor passes from thecarburetor; separate vapor supply pipes leading to the mixing chamberrespectively from the upper .parts of the radiator and oil sump; andseparate valve means in said vapor supply pipes and adapted to controlthe flow of vapor in each such vapor supply pipe.

11. In an internal combustion engine having a carburetor, a fuel tankwith liquid fuel therein; and an oil sump in the engine; the combinationof a subcarburetor interposed between the carburetor and the engine,-and containing a mixing chamber through which the fuel vapor passes fromthe carburetor; separate vapor supply pipes leading to the mixingchamber respectively from the upper parts of the fuel tank and the oilsump;

and separate valve means in said vapor supply pipes and adapted tocontrol the flow of vapor in each such vapor supply pipe.

12. In an internal combustion engine having a carburetor, awater-cooling radiator, a fuel tank with liquid fuel therein, and an oilsump in the engine; the combination of a subcarburetor interposedbetween the carburetor and the engine, and containing a mixing chamberthrough which the fuel vapor passes from the carburetor; separate vaporsupply pipes leading to the mixing chamber respectively from the upperparts of the watercooling radiator, the fuel tank, and the oil sump; andseparate valve means in said vapor supply pipes and adapted to controlthe flow of vapor in each such vapor supply pipe.

LINCOLN HANKS.

